Employment Opportunities

Entry-Level Positions Available
This is an ideal position for an individual seeking part-time employment within the Monterey Bay area.

Primary Responsibilities
This position provides the basic aspects of sales and customer service.

Responsibilities include:

• Answering customer calls, email and live chat requests/questions.
• Assisting customers with product selection, processing orders online, data entry, and assuring that customer issues are resolved.
• Providing customers with basic order history, billing, and shipping information.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualified applicant should have:

• Strong written/verbal communication and problem-solving skills required
• Previous retail sales/customer service experience preferred
• Ability to accurately enter data into the computer system

This role will engage in daily website content entry and maintenance processes for our fast-paced, high-volume business-to-consumer ecommerce business. This includes using our proprietary order management system, our website ecommerce/content management platform, and third-party ecommerce platforms to enter and maintain website content. It further includes managing multiple email blasts per week, testing various aspects of website and email presentations, and executing other miscellaneous website maintenance functions for our multiple ecommerce websites and Amazon marketplace sites. Finally, this role acts as backup support for various other functions in our internet marketing department (implementation of promotions, social media maintenance, affiliate newsletter management, etc.)

Please note: although strong HTML and CSS are required skills (for content entry and email blast production), this is not primarily a web design or web development job. The majority of website production is performed by entering and maintaining HTML and CSS content into user interfaces to our databases.

Primary Responsibilities:

Content Production and Maintenance

• Perform regular updates to home pages and various landing pages on our ecommerce websites.
• Manage customer and company generated assets (images, videos and articles), including logging and organizing submissions, adding content to community section of websites, and associating products to content.
• Test website presentation and content options through basic A/B testing.
• Effectively troubleshoot website content problems.

Email Marketing

• Enhance basic html files to add products and content, implement tracking codes, and ensure consistent presentation in various email clients.
• Use our proprietary email blast systems to maintain our email list, create customer segmentations, and send multiple email blasts per week.
• Develop triggered html emails and maintain scheduling and variable parameters in our integrated order management system.
• Test email subject line, presentation and content options through basic A/B testing.

Web Project Management Support
Assist with other web projects as required, including:

• Entering product information (product image and video details, keywords, meta information, product ids, etc.) into our integrated order management system, our ecommerce/content management platform, and third-party ecommerce platforms.
• Use our ecommerce/content management platform and third-party ecommerce platforms to develop and implement various promotions (free gifts, free shipping, discounts, etc.)

Critical Skills/Expertise:

• First and foremost, this position requires an ability to thrive in and embrace a fast-paced, high-volume business which presents frequent new challenges.
• Desire to learn and implement principles of ecommerce and emarketing.
• Excellent knowledge of basic internet skills (email, web surfing, search engine use, etc.).
• Strong HTML and CSS skills (hand coding) required. Knowledge of both CSS and table-based layout required.
• Experience creating HTML email blasts strongly preferred.
• Experience with coding for responsive design is a plus.
• Some exposure to javascript and jQuery is a plus.
• Some copywriting experience is a plus.
• Self-starter, able to work with minimal supervision, able to "multi-task" effectively.
• Detail-oriented.
• Intermediate to Advanced Excel skills including the ability to input data and construct effective formulas to extract and analyze data.
• Keen quantitative and analytic skills.
• Strong Microsoft Word skills.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills.
• Knowledge of technical aspects of web design and organization helpful.
• Knowledge of database structure and capabilities and website system architectures helpful.
• Experience with Open Commerce Platform (OCP) or similar website management system preferred.
• Experience with custom order management software helpful but not required.
• Experience with Google Analytics or similar website analytics service helpful but not required.
• Familiarity with Audacity helpful but not required.
• Familiarity with Scene7 image and video management helpful but not required.
• Working knowledge of Orion Telescopes & Binoculars products helpful but not required.

Job Standards:

• Communicate clearly, pleasantly and effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Work effectively with co-workers in all departments of the company.
• Accurate, thorough and timely data entry.
• Ability to prioritize work tasks.
• Effectively learn and apply training material.
• Strong project management skills.
• Ability to define and continuously refine / streamline production processes, including creating and clearly documenting process steps.
• Minimum 2+ years in support of a fast-paced, high volume business to consumer ecommerce business.
• Minimum 3+ years web administration experience (or equivalent).

Responsible for all aspects of the Accounting Department. Provide accurate and timely accounting information, supervise accounts payable, accounts receivable & collection, fraud prevention, budgeting, cash flow management, payroll & profit sharing, and fixed assets functions.

Essential Job Functions:

1. ACCOUNTING

Accounts Payable:

• Assumes overall responsibility for all aspects of the accounts payable function including but not limited to the following
• Audit import vendor wire requests and review import inventory receipt activity
• Compile and execute foreign and US currency wires weekly, or as needed
• Reconcile prepaid import spreadsheet
• Review account coding of all invoices
• Review consistent "month costs incurred" rules, with special attention to Catalog Costs and other prepaid accounts
• Track repetitive monthly expenses
• Timely payment of all open invoices, as well as royalty, lease & loan payments
• Overview preparation of all manual checks
• Review Inventory Purchases Reconciliation
• Perform month-end and year-end accounts payable closing process
• Review of all other accounts payable processing



Accounts Receivable & Collections:

• Assumes overall responsibility for all aspects of the accounts receivable function including but not limited to the following:
• Collection for both retail and wholesale accounts, including analyzing AR Aging for past-due accounts, coordinate collection efforts, and negotiate payment arrangements
• Effectively manage the cash application and deductions resolution process for Amazon A/R
• Effectively manage the retail installment billing and layaway programs and their related billings and collections
• Review compiled credit information for new and existing wholesale accounts
• Establish and maintain wholesale credit limits, including A/R insurance program for named accounts
• Review Closed AR and New Credit transactions
• Research and properly resolve account discrepancies
• Verify incoming wire transfers from foreign dealers
• Review of all other accounts receivable processing



Payroll:

• Assumes primary responsibility for performing all aspects of the ADP payroll function including but not limited to the following:
• Preparation of salary/hourly payroll processing
• Review of timecards
• Audit paid leave entries against authorized Request for Absence forms
• Maintain Authorized Deduction forms for dependent insurance, 401K deferrals and loans
• Compile and issue manual paychecks for terminations and payroll adjustments
• Distribute monthly payroll recap data to department heads
• Respond to EDD claims for unemployment and state disability
• Confirm timely filing of payroll tax deposits, and quarterly and annual tax returns by ADP
• Perform bi-weekly payroll closing processes
• Maintain payroll documentation and journal files
• Review of all other payroll processing



401k Plan:

• Assumes primary responsibility for performing all aspects of the plan function including but not limited to the following:
• Compile 401k deferral, match and loan information following each payroll
• Monitor deferral and match ceilings as per corporate guidelines and IRS legislation
• Fund each employee 401k account bi-weekly, either through wire or forfeiture account
• Reconcile plan account monthly
• Periodically review Trustee database of plan participants' profiles (status, birth dates, etc.)
• Process periodic and year-end Non Discrimination Testing through the Trustee
• Maintain plan documentation and Trustee relationships
• Review of all other profit sharing plan processing



Budgeting:

• Acquire input documents from the President and provide multi-round draft budgets until finalized
• Create initial payroll worksheet for management review
• Review entries for completeness, prepare variance analysis against prior year actuals and submit for review process
• Provide timely feedback of Actual vs Budget data to management with appropriate notation and explanation of variances



Fixed Assets:

• Assumes primary responsibility for maintaining fixed asset module (FAS) including but not limited to the following:
• Review additions and disposals of assets, including basis, life and method
• Year-end maintenance to assign SEC 179 Bonus valuation to assets, calculate depreciation, print
• reports, and reconcile to GL
• Year-end close process for fixed asset module
• Review of all other fixed asset processing



General Accounting:

• Assumes primary responsibility for all general accounting functions including but not limited to the following:
• Analysis and reconciliation of general ledger accounts
• Maintenance of general ledger working papers
• Preparation of month-end financial statements
• Preparation of bank account reconciliations
• Responsible for daily maintenance of cash balances for all cash accounts
• Maintenance of cash flow projections on a monthly basis, or as needed
• Maintain liquidity report on a monthly basis
• Payment of monthly sales tax deposits and quarterly income tax deposits
• Responsible for preparation of quarterly sales tax returns, annual property tax statements and other regulatory City/State/Federal returns, censuses, and filings
• Maintain relationship with CPAs (Auditors and Tax Preparers) in regards to annual physical inventory, audits, and other accounting matters
• Review annually prepared corporate income tax returns for completeness and accuracy
• Maintain banking documentation and branch relationships
• Responsible for maintenance of accounting archive records
• Responsible for administering of commercial general & auto, and workers' compensation insurance packages
• Attend weekly management and accounting meetings as requested
• Provide accounting assistance, analysis and/or research for special projects as needed



Cash Flow

• Bank Reporting
• Serve as the day-to-day primary contact for the banks
• Create and submit monthly borrowing base reporting to the bank
• Supervise daily cash transfers among key accounts
• Corporate and Orion Reporting
• Supervise daily, weekly and monthly cash reporting
• Prepare and analyze 12 month rolling cash flow forecast (monthly)



Insurance

• Identify and analyze Corporate's and Orion's insurance needs
• Identify potential insurance carriers and make recommendations re the best fit
• Make recommendations to the President re annual insurance renewal potential changes
• Serve as primary contact with insurance companies



Tax and Audit

• Identify and analyze Corporate's and Orion's tax and audit needs
• Identify potential tax and audit providers and make recommendations re the best fit
• Make recommendations to the President re annual tax and audit renewal potential changes
• Serve as primary contact with tax and audit companies
• Ensure that all taxes are correctly calculated and remitted on-time to the respective tax authorities (Federal, State, County, City, foreign VAT, etc.).



Corporate

• Provide quarterly Corporate consolidated P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Shareholder Equity/Debt reporting
• Provide annual budgeting support for the corporate level activities
• Manage the shareholder equity and debt tracking and reporting process
• Provide reporting and budgetary follow up with the respective Corporate investors finance departments



2. FRAUD PREVENTION



• Lead company efforts to improve its overall fraud protection processes and results and adapt to the changing fraud environment
• Establish, monitor and keep updated the fraud rules, processes, and SOPs
• Actively manage and train the team to meet its performance goals
• Develop fluency in the AVS/Fraud processes, rules and SOP
• Serve as level 2 back-up (ex. Order surge, holiday season, vacation coverage, short-staffed, etc.)
• Meet or exceed key metric goals and distribute weekly report on key fraud metrics
• Audit Lexis-Nexis access and performance



3. MANAGEMENT:



• Identify, develop, promote and retain a highly effective department
• Assume primary responsibility for the supervision, training, development, assistance and back-up to the AR Clerk, Fraud Clerk(s), and AP Accountant positions
• Develop and cultivate intracompany credibility for the department
• Partner with and provide financial and accounting expertise and support to the management team



4. PROCESS REEGINEERING & SYSTEMS INTEGRATION:

• Identify, analyze and implement specific small, medium and large workflow and cost savings improvements within the department and larger company
• Work closely with other managers to "take out" work across departments
• Implement specific IT systems upgrades that will provide workflow improvements and cost savings




Department Manager Responsibilities:




1. Staff Accountability (if or when staff assigned):

• Providing staff with clear objectives and accountabilities
• Supervision of staff
• Training of staff
• Monitoring, evaluating and recording staff performance
• Communication of policies and procedures
• Appropriating hiring and termination
• Scheduling of staff
• Safety of staff and others



2. Communications:

• Hold department meetings on a regular basis
• Effectively communicate with others, both inside and outside the company
• Appropriate record keeping
• Seek out and learn from past experiences in the company records



3. Achievement:

• Achieve his/her objectives and accountabilities
• Actively initiate and be involved in change for the purpose of continuous improvement
• Establish and maintain procedures
• Provide required planning



4. Fiscal Accountability:

• Responsible for expenses incurred by staff
• Perform his/her responsibilities economically and in accordance with the budget
• Represent the best interests of the company



5. Lead by Example:

• Set an example by which others in the company may be guided



Critical Skills/Expertise: (Needed specifically for this position)

• Ability to perform multitude of accounting tasks consistently and accurately.
• Ability to supervise and train supporting staff.
• Ability to research and communicate results on accounting, computer and tax issues.
• Ability to meet and maintain deadlines.



Job Standards: (Minimum qualifications needed to perform essential job functions)

• Ability to speak, read and write English
• Five to seven years of supervisory experience managing an accounting department, in a position of increasing responsibility; or public accounting experience
• Must be computer literate and proficient in computer spreadsheet packages
• Prior experience in general ledger, financial statement preparation, and tax return (payroll, sales, property) preparation
• Completion of B.S. with emphasis in Accounting or Finance. Masters Degree with Accounting, Business Administration, Finance or Taxation emphasis, and/or C.P.A./C.M.A desired, but not required




Non-Essential Functions:

• May be assigned other tasks as needed to accomplish the goals of the department and company.